838

WE are glad to hear that the Society of Apothecarieshave finally resolved not to dispose of their Physic Gardenon the Chelsea Embankment. It is stated that Earl

Cadogan, who, as lord of the manor, might claim certainTeveraionary rights in the event of the conditions of the

-original grant being unfulfilled, has approached the Societywith a view to some mutually advantageous arrangements.These negotiations are now understood to have been finallybroken off.

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DR. MACDONALD has issued an elaborate official reportn Kemmler’s death by electricity to the Governor of theState. The reporter describes with considerable detail theincidents of the execution, and states that the death wasinstantaneous, painless, and absolutely successful.

Pharmacology and Therapeutics.THEOBROMINE AND DIURETIN.

JT will be remembered that early in the year Dr. ChristianGram of Copenhagen published some results of his expe-Tience of theobromine as a diuretic, and his conclusions thatin diuretin, the sodio-theobromine salicylate, a salt hadbeen obtained which was easily absorbed and stronglydiuretic. Under the direction of Dr. Dujardin-Beaumetz,furtherobservations have been made by Mme. K. Pomerantz,which, in the main, confirm the statements originally madeby Gram. The results she has obtained are briefly as

follows : (1) When given indoses of fifteen grains every two orthree hours diuretin is a much stronger diuretic than caffeine;<2) when there is considerable cardiac degeneration it shouldbe employed with some caution, especially when there isalbuminuria; (3) under the influence of diuretin the forceof the cardiac contractions is scarcely affected ; (4) diuretinrapidly increases the quantity of urine passed, and the- diuretic effect lasts twice or three times as long as that pro-duced by caffeine; (5) the activity does not wear off readilyas the patient becomes accustomed to the drug; (6) micturi-tion is not rendered difficult or painful ; and (7) diuretinhas no action on the central nervous system. Both theo-bromine and diuretin give good results in cases of dropsywhen diuresis is possible; but as the action appears toconsist of direct stimulation of the renal epithelium, it isobvious that the activity of the drug is seriously interferedwith in cases of advanced kidney disease.

KERATIN.

Drs. Unna and Beiersdorff recommend that pills coatedwith keratin, or capsules made of this substance, should beemployed when drugs are prescribed which irritate thegastric mucous membrane, and the administration of whichis liable to induce vomiting-such as preparations of digitalisand squills, salicylic acid, or iodide of iron ; also whensubstances are given which neutralise the acidity of thestomach, or which in any way impair its activity-such asacetate of lead, tannin, nitrate of silver, alkalis, &e. An Jouter coating of keratin is also desirable when prescribing 4drugs that are required to act on the intestinal mucous 1membrane without affecting that of the stomach, such as

1

extract of logwood, tannin, or the salts of aluminium- ]

Finally, keratin is most valuable when substances are given 7with the object of destroying worms, but which if intro- fduced in the ordinary way into the stomach undergoabsorption to such an extent that they are liable to set up (.alarming symptoms, while at the same time their vermicidal 1action is reduced. Keratin is obtained by treating shavingsdf buffalo horn with ether, alcohol, and an acid. Its special J

property is that it is insoluble in the contents of the stomach, rbut readily so in those of the intestine after the pancreatic 1.juice has entered. t c

ACTION OF ALKALINE CHLORIDES ON CALOMEL. a

As the theory of Mialhe, which affirms that calomel is i;decomposed by alkaline chlorides at the temperature of the a

body, although denied by many authors, is still taught inmany chemical works, M. Adam has subjected the question, s

w.hich of course is a most important one from a medical bpoint of view, to a searching examination, and comes to n

the following conclusions. In contact with air at a high a

temperature calomel may be changed into the pereblorideby the alkaline chlorides, more especially by ammoniumchloride; but in the absence of air, even in the presence oforganic matter, this change is so slight as to be practicallynil, and, unless calomel is prescribed on an empty stomach,it is of no consequence whether the food taken is salted ornot ; he also concludes that chloride of sodium is not incom-

patible with calomel.

ANNUAL REPORTOF THE

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD.0

s THE nineteenth annual report of the Local Government

Board shows by its bulk alone that, so far as work is con-

cerned, there has certainly been no diminution of thelabours of the central authority by reason of the passing ofthe Local Government Act, 1888. Indeed, that statuteseems, if anything, to have added to the work of the depart.ment. The proceedings relating to local government andcounty councils take precedence in the volume just issued,and amongst the items relating to finance we notice that of

,

the 1570 sanitary districts which existed at the close of 1889, 1218 had medical officers of health appointed under the

Board’s Order with a view to repayment of half the salaries,and 1138 had inspectors of nuisances so appointed. Withregard to the relief of the poor, it appears that, comparedwith last year, there were on Jan. 1st of this year 23,944fewer paupers, the decrease amounting to 2’9 per cent., theratio of paupers to every 1000 of the population varyingfrom 41’3 in the south-western district to 18-9 in the north-western, the counties of Lancaster and the West Ridingstanding best of all in this respect. The cost per head perpauper in England and Wales was i4 lox. 6. last year,and :64 16.s. 51d in the metropolis, a considerable increasehaving taken place in London in this respect during thelast decade. Amongst the 5777 cases admitted by theMetropolitan Asylums Board into their infectious hospitalsduring 1889, only 5 were ca,ses of small-pox, of diphtheriathe number was 722, and there were 23 cases of typhus. Asregards diphtheria, it is stated that the managers are care-

fully inquiring into the question whether the possibility ofits presence in large quantities injuriously affects otherpatients in the hospitals.In dealing with the administration of public health, the

report states that during 1889 sanction was given to sanitaryauthorities to borrow no less than i2,823, 767, an amountwhich had not been reached for some five years. Of this sumonly 154,531 was borrowed by rural sanitary authorities,and nothing whatever was borrowed either last year or

in 1888 under the Artisans and Labourers’ Dwellings Im-provement Act, 1875, a fact which doubtless led in part tothe legislation of the present year. Only four defaultingauthorities are referred to in the report. Three of them-namely, the Bridge Rural, the Sutton Urban, and theOundle Urban-have before been referred to, and from whatis stated concerning them it may be expected that eachone will, in one way or another, comply with the terms ofthe orders issued against them. The new case is that ofthe Idle Local Board district, where an order has been maderequiring the provision of sewers within a period of sixmonths. The paucity of complaints against defaultingauthorities has possibly been in part due to the fact that inthe Local Government Act, as originally framed, the LocalGovernment Board ineffectually sought to transfer theburden of compulsion to county councils, a transfer towhich the majority of sanitary authorities strongly ob-jected. A large amount of work has been going on duringrecent years in the permanent constitution of Port SanitaryAuthorities, and it may now be taken that all round ourcoast special provision, of a more or less complete nature,has been made against the importation of infection fromabroad. That which most pressingly remains to be doneis the constitution of more small hospitals in our ports,adapted to receive a few cases of such a disease as cholera.In connexion with the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, it is

stated that 228appointments of analysts have been approved,but that there still remain four county boroughs and fournon-county boroughs in which no analysts have beenappointed. During 1889 the number of analyses made under

839

the Act was 26,954, or some 600 more than in 1888. This

gives one sample for every 964 persons living in Englandand Wales, one analysis being carried out in London forevery 542 persons living, but even in some metropolitanparishes the amount of work done to protect the publicinterests in this way is absurdly small ; thus, in Rother-hithe, with a population of over 36,000, only four analyseswere made iu the year. So a,lso in the provinces,whole counties and boroughs exist where no single analysiswas made; and it is fortunate in this respect that in thecase of fifty-five boroughs theadmiuistrationof these A cts hasbeen transferred to the County Councils. The fines, too, whichare imposed are ridiculously inadequate to the fraudulentprofit made by adulteration, the average penalty being lessthan f, 1. Of the total articles examined, 11’5 per cent. werefound to be adulterated, the highest percentage being in thecase of spirits, where it reached 19"2, water being probably themain means of adulteration. Unfortunately, the same ingre-dient is still largely added to milk, of which 13’2 per cent. ofthe samples analysed were found to be adulterated, and it ispointed out that the practice is lucrative in the extreme,and that, if carefully carried out, it is very difficult ofdetection. Thin milk is often genuine, and hence the fraudis the more easily practised with considerable profit. Indeed,it is stated in the report that if to one-fifth of the amountof milk yearly consumed in the metropolis only one-eighthpart of water is added, the loss to the consumer amounts tof50,000 per annum. In London, 21 ’1 per cent. of the samplesof milk were adulterated ; whilst we read that in Salfordthe percentage is only 5’6, and the analyst is able to informthe Health Committee that this result has been attainedthrough the work of a staff of inspectors. That which ispossible in Salford should be possible in London also. Noless than 12’1 per cent. of the samples of drugs were foundto be adulterated, paregoric and sweet spirits of nitre beingfavourite articles for the purpose. With regard to the moremedical aspects of the Board’s work, the usual report by theMedical Officer is promised to be issued shortly. But in thisbranch it is worth noting that the vaccination returns for1887 show that there were 8’1 per cent. of the births unac-counted for by vaccination, a larger percentage of defaultthan in any preceding year. We fear that, pending thesittings of the Royal Commission on Vaccination, nothingcan be done to stay the laxity which is going on in thisrespect, and which is mainly favoured by the continuance ofa period of comparative immunity from small-pox.

CALENDAR OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OFSURGEONS OF ENGLAND.

FROM the Calendar of this institution, which has justbeen published by the Council, it appears there are 1153Fellows of the College (of whom 773 obtained the Fellowshipby examination, 13 were elected as Members of twenty years’standing, and 2 are ad eundem Fellows), 17,345 Members,800 Licentiates in Midwifery, and 703 Licentiates inDental Surgery. The holders of the diploma in PublicHealth (granted in conjunction with the Royal College ofPhysicians) number 45.During the past collegiate year 712 candidates presented

themselves in elementary anatomy and physiology, ofwhom 483 passed in both subjects, 90 in elementary ana-tomy, 77 in elementary physiology, and 62 candidates werereferred in both subjects ; 80 candidates presented them-selves in elementary anatomy, 66 of whom passed ; 108presented themselves in elementary physiology, of whom83 passed. The examiners are appointed in conjunctionwith the Royal College of Physicians. The fees receivedfrom candidates for this examination amounted toE1068 4s. 6d., the examiners receiving as fees E599 5s. Of723 candidates who presented themselves in chemistry, 529passed and 194 were referred. Of 90 candidates who pre-sented themselves in materia medica, 509 passed and 381failed. The examiners in chemistry and materia medicaare elected by the Royal College of Physicians.The examiners in anatomy and physiology for the

Second Examination are appointed annually in conjunctionwith the Royal College of Physicians; they have conductedthe Primary Examination under the Old Regulations, aswell as the Second Examination of the Examining Board.794 candidates presented themselves for examination in

anatomy, 526 passed and 268 were referred. 906 candi-dates prestnted themselves in physiology, of whom 537passed and 369 were referred. The fees received from theseexaminations amounted to JE3375 16s. ; the examiners re-ceiving in fees ae1526 15s.The Board of Examiners in Anatomy and Physiology for

the diploma of Fellow, consisting of nine members, annuallyelected by the Council from the Fellows of the College, heldduring the past year two examinations, and 185 candidatespresented themselves, of whom 64 passed and 121 wererejected. The fees received amounted to JE1228 10s., andthe fees to the board to &pound; 828The Court of Examiners, elected by the Council from the

Fellows of the College for five years, conduct the Third onFinal Examination in "Surgery" of the Examining Board,as well as the Pass or Final Examination under the OldRegulations, and the Pass or Final Examination for theFellowship. During the year the Court has held two Exa.minations for the Fellowship and four for the Membership ; flat the former there were 81 candidates, 44 of whom passed,,5 being referred for one year and 32 for six months. Forthe membership there were 805 candidates, of whom 47passed and 334 were referred. The fees paid by candidatesamounted to f7377 15s. 6d., and the fees paid to the-Court of Examiners and the Examiners in Midwifery toae3246 19s. The Examiners in Medicine under the schemefor an Examining Board in England are elected by theRoyal College of Physicians. Of 536 candidates who pre-sented themselves for this examination during the year, 377passed and 159 were referred. The Examiners in Midwiferyunder the scheme are elected in conjunction with theRoyal College of Physicians, and have examined 56candidates, of whom 406 passed and 163 were referred.The Board of Examiners in Dental Surgery has held two

meetings for the examination of 58 candidates, 32 of whomreceived the diploma. The fees paid by them amounted to&pound;336, the board receiving E243 12s.With regard to the finances of the College, it appears

that the income from all sources amounted to &pound;37,871, thelargest receipt being, as already shown, derived from feespaid by candidates for the diplomas of the College--viz.,&pound;18,653 16s. 6d., the next largest being from sale of stock,&pound;10,544 4s. 10d. incidental receipts, hire of rooms, sale ofCalendars, Questions, &c., &pound;393 9s. 1Od. ; rents fromchambers adjoining the College, &pound;1071 ; investments,&pound;6044 13s. 9d. ; trust funds, &pound;253 ls. 11d. ; fees retainedfor candidates, E740 5s. ; balance at bankers, Midsummer.day, 1889, &pound; 171 Os. Ild.The expenditure for the year amounted to 37,159 10s. 2d., n

leaving a balance of &pound;712 2s. 7d. The largest item wasrepresented by fees to examiners, &pound;8444 lls. Extension ofCollege premises cost f 5185 15s. 8d. ; half expenses, Examination Hall and laboratories, &pound;4158 Os. 9d. ; salaries, wages, andpensions for officers and servants in three departments,museum, library, and office, amounted to &pound;4992 12s. 2d.;rates, taxes, and insurance absorbed the sum of .61408 2s. 7d.;alterations and repairs, &pound;1254 3s. 10d. ; extraordinary ex-penses, conservator, &pound;106 14s. 6d. ; furniture and fittings,&pound;224 18s.; purchase of books &c. for library, f838 19s. 8d.;.fees returned to candidates, &pound;770 10s. law expenses,&pound;286 14s. 5d. ; half expenses, Savoy estate, &pound;6825; and feesto Council, &pound;265 13s. Under miscellaneous items-fuel,light, printing, stationery, trust funds, lectures, &c.-about&pound;2500 appears to have been expended.

THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ONCOPYRIGHT.

THE profession cannot be indifferent to the question ofcopyright. The literature of medicine and of science com-

prises so vast a field of oliginal research, described withliterary art, and published on an extensive scale and atgreat expense, that the property thus created is in as muchneel of protection as the property of dramatic and otherauthors. In some instances the necessity of legalprotection for scientific works is greater, because thecost of production is greater, while the market forthe sale of such works is restricted to a specialclass of purchasers. A book, for instance, on anatomywould only be read by students of anatomy, and notby the public at large, yet it would cost as much to